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Iahex or Bust
New Cybertron Highway Fast, new, beautiful steel lanes soar above the ground, bisecting the sterling sheen of the Iacon Plain's expanse. Offered up to the sky on massive plasteel pylons, the Autobot HQ/Old Iacon connector boasts the best driving on Cybertron since the full-blown construction crews have vacated, replaced by the occasional maintenance worker. Ample lighting, both overhead and recessed in the median and emergency lanes, safeguards against road hazards at night, dimming out during the bright daylight when the two suns light the sky. There is an air of brisk anticipation as one motors away the astro-clicks. Despite the progress, fear of Decepticon attacks is high, limiting passers-by to the rare daredevil racers or plodding transport convoys. Clutch arrives from the Tunnel of Retoris to the west. Clutch has arrived. Groove arrives from the Tunnel of Retoris to the west. Groove has arrived. Homunculus has arrived. A White Motorcycle sweeps through the highway, it's quiet... With all the combat recently the less combative folks seem to be keeping to their homes... But no rest for this bot as he drives around he watches and looks for a point for the decepticons next attack. Clutch drives along the highway from the rapidly-shrinking Autobot territory towards the East. He's been itching to test the Decepticon presence around the Iacon plain. Once he gets into scouting (or shooting) distance from the tunnel of Retoris he slows down slightly. "Keep your sensors peeled, Groove," he quips. "Could be Decepticons anywhere around here." Clutch transforms into sportscar mode! Why is it that Scourge only ever teams up with small or weak 'partners' for these patrols? Well, Homunculus wasn't weak, for one of Soundwave's tapes, but still, small. Soaring high above the skies of Iahex, his sensors pick up a pair of Autobots coming in on the highway. Well, looks like they were going to try to retake Iahex. Or were they merely scouting it out? It mattered little, as the Sweepcraft veered off the 'scheduled' patrol route to intercept the incoming Autobots. <> Homunculus is tailgating the Sweep from some ridiculous distance back. He seems to be a little unsteady in the air; out of practice, perhaps, from having spent the last two years shoved in a closet by the Combaticons. He'd rather be doing most anything than patrolling and, if you could see his small expression, it'd be clear he's practically pouting. All of the sudden, however, things appear to be looking up with a couple of blips on the sensors. Blue Sportscar begins to pull off of the highway as he picks up the Sweepcraft's flying form. "Looks like they sent a welcome committe, Groove. Let's go out to meet them!" He transforms into his robot mode and hefts a heavy-duty laser pistol, sending a few energy bolts in Scourge's direction. This being open war and all, he doesn't even bother trying to talk first! Clutch transforms into robot mode! Combat: Clutch strikes Sweep Spacecraft with his Laser attack! Combat: You took 11 damage. Motorcycle emits, "Slag! And at this point... I wish the dumb dino was here instead of me..." he emits a loud sigh as he follows on behind clutch, he watches as the other Autobot transforms and groove stops behind what seems to be a large convoy truck, Judging the distance Groove accellerates towards the fighting con and bot and emits, "I'll be there in a few seconds to help..." he gets closer to the start of the fight. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Motorcycle has 'skipped' his action for this round. Laser fire peppering his armor, the Sweepcraft barrel rolls and returns fire immediately as he dives on Clutch. <> Laser fire peppering the area near, and hopefully /on/ Clutch, Scourge dives ever closer to his prey. Combat: Sweep Spacecraft misses Clutch with his Laser attack! Homunculus weaves slightly in the air, trying to avoid the scattered blasts of laser fire rising into the sky. Luckily his Sweep companion seems to be drawing most of the fire. Well, after all, what are minions for? He's still a little too far out to start exterminating Autobugs, much to his dismay, but the feisty cassette will be there soon enough. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Homunculus has 'skipped' his action for this round. Clutch hugs the ground as a much larger barrage of laser fire comes burning back at him. But his evasive maneuvers seem to do their job - namely keeping his paint scheme intact for a bit longer. Lifting his face, Clutch tries to figure out what Groove is up to. This causes him to catch sight of Homunculus rushing to meet him. "Look out, you've got a little Decepticreep headed your way!" he calls out, before turning his attention back to Scourge and pumping a few more energy beams in his direction. Combat: Clutch strikes Sweep Spacecraft with his Disruptor attack! Combat: You took 7 damage. Motorcycle gets in close and decides that to save time and perhaps distract the Sweep commander from his current target, he emits a loud horn honk as he gets in close to Scourge, he takes careful aim then unleashes a pair of Vaporator blasts towards the Decepticon. Combat: Motorcycle misses Sweep Spacecraft with his Twin Vaporators attack! Not bothering to try to evade the return fire, Scourge's arrogance makes itself all too apparent as he dives straight in on Clutch, the steep dive allowing him to evade the incoming Groove, who warned him with a blast from his horn. The disruptor fire making a bit of a mark on his armor, his systems easily compensate for the disruptive nature of the weapons fire as the laser lasso, the most well-known, and possibly one of the most dreaded, weapons of the Sweeps, suddenly powers up and swings in on Clutch, aiming to wrap up his arms and keep him from firing any more. << I see you are in need of a lesson, Autobot. Allow me to instruct you! >> Combat: Sweep Spacecraft sets his defense level to Fearless. < Combat: Sweep Spacecraft strikes Clutch with his Laser Lasso attack! Combat: Clutch has been temporarily incapacitated. Homunculus finally manages to close in on the unfolding skirmish. He glowers at being called a Decepticreep, but even the most wreckless of warriors knows not to try and steal a target from Scourge on the hunt. That decision made, he switches his attention to another foe. This one also seems to view the larger Decepticon as a more viable target. Tactically, the situation is optimal, but it's a terrible blow to his ego. Pulling up short, he hovers above the poor, doomed (in his mind, at least) Autobots and smiles malevolently. "Foolish creatures," he snarls with an overinflated sense of self-worth, "Time to die!" Combat: Homunculus sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Homunculus strikes Motorcycle with his Fusion Cannon (Laser) attack! The energy lasso wraps around Clutch's torso, pinning his arms to his side and holding him immobilized. At first he struggles mightily to free himself, but then once the line is drawn taut, Clutch gets jerked off of his feet! He's dragged along, bouncing and scraping against the ground, trying to dig in his feet and stop himself but always jerked off again by the Sweep's speed and momentum. Motorcycle is struck so hard from someone he didn't even notice... Groove just now relises that his upside down with his wheels flailing in the air. He remains sielnt for a moment then transforms. He lays on his back for a minute then says, "You never find just one decepticon... like roaches... but without the personallity." Groove then slowly make his way to his feet and looks around for the Decepticon that attacked him, With a massive gash in his leg his movements are alot slower, he doesn't see anyone so decides to attack the target he can see, He draws his Photon Pistol, Takes careful aim and fires off a blast of Photon energy towards Scourge. The Autobot Motorcycle revs up then rotates and transforms into a large robot. Combat: Groove strikes Sweep Spacecraft with his Photon Pistol attack! Combat: You took 5 damage. Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Sweep Spacecraft 's Accuracy. (Blinded) Laughing at the plight of the Autobot trapped in his laser lasso, he gets slammed into by the other's photon beam, which effectively scrambles his optical sensors for a few moments. Growling, the Sweepcraft transforms and Scourge lands, using his enhanced sense of hearing to locate his prey, still struggling against his laser lasso, and aims a swipe at Clutch with his claws. "The other Autobot will suffer /far/ more than you will, for his interference. But first, I will tear /you/ apart!" Turning as it approaches, the Sweepcraft seems to split in places, the arms and legs of a robot emerging, then the demonic wings unfurl and the menacing visage of Scourge makes it's appearance, completing the transformation from Sweepcraft to robot. Combat: Scourge strikes Clutch with his Clawed Assault attack! -3 Homunculus seems rather pleased with himself for coming out of the box with a successful swing. He takes a moment to survey the carnage, the dim glow of his arm cannon shining through the rising wisps of smoke from its discharge. Unabashedly cocksure, he doesn't even twitch as Groove transformers and comes up weapon in hand. Sadly, poor Homunculus is once again ignored in favor of his more terrifying companion. Face twisting in annoyance, he snatches a pistol from who knows where and jerks the trigger wildly. "Ignore me at your own risk, Autobot," he barks as the rounds go flying in Groove's general direction. Combat: Homunculus strikes Groove with his Holdout Pistol (Pistol) attack! Groove is struck squarely in the back, the same Decepticon has snuck up on him again. He rolls on the floor for a moment and lays on his back as he says, "ARGGH! That really does sting..." he sits up and looks around and finally see the Decepticon menace. Groove slowly makes his way to his feet as he says, "Hmm Clutch... There another one of these nasties... Not good odds i think..." Groove sighs and wonders for a moment where Hot Spot is now days, Groove puts his Photon Pistol away then runs slowly towards the Decepticon and shouts, "Those better be sistanable weapions your firing!" as he draws a much smaller pistol and as he runs lets fly a volly of bullet shells. Combat: Groove strikes Homunculus with his Pistol attack! Clutch sees the clawed swipe coming, and grits his jaw. But at the last second he twists his own body, positioning himself so that Scourge's claws rend through Clutch's armor...but they also sever his own energy lasso, finally freeing Clutch's arms. Working his arms quickly to make sure they're completely unencumbered, Clutch reaches behind his back and produces an ornate cylindrical device decorated with rich, dark wood and brass highlights. Depressing a tiny control causes two blade-like panes of energy to flare into life from the ends, but directed somehow outwords so that the Autobot is holding his weapon with a transverse grip, the blade continuing the line of the forearm rather than being perpendicular to it. It's a configuration that will probably increase the stabbing power...a theory which Clutch immediately puts to the test by stabbing it directly at Scourge's chest! Combat: Clutch misses Scourge with his Steampunk Sabre attack! Laughing at the Autobot, Scourge whirls away from the energy blade, sneering at Clutch. "You cannot best me, Autobot. Your weapons are useless, and your skills as a warrior are worse than pathetic!" As the Sweep leader whirls away from the 'Steampunk Sabre', he lashes out with his foot in a mighty kick, aimed at Clutches chest. Combat: Scourge sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Scourge misses Clutch with his Kick attack! Homunculus shudders in the air, driven back by the flurry of shells biting holes in his armor. Glaring down at the spider-webbed fissures in his chest, the angry little tape clenches his fists. "You dare?!" Enraged -despite having gotten what he asked for a few seconds ago- the diminutive Decepticon darts forward, amethyst optics flashing. Homunculus blasts towards Groove, his anti-gravity systems redlining with the exertion, fists outstretched, and roaring incoherently. Combat: Homunculus strikes Groove with his Focused Assault attack! -2 Clutch's free hand lifts up, along with the rest of that arm, and thick armor encasing his forearm manages to absorb the force of Scourge's blow without noticeable harm. "Oh yeah?! Well, your skills ain't exaclty looking so good either -- less you're talking about smack talking. Then you're decent. Nothing special, but decent." With the last word, Clutch raises a knee to his chest then smashes the flat part of his foot forward at Scourge. Not as flashy perhaps as the Decepticon's attack, but sometimes keeping things simple works. Combat: Clutch strikes Scourge with his Kick attack! Combat: You took 9 damage. Combat: Clutch's attack has damaged your Strength! Groove is hit once more and almost manages to sidestep the assault from the decepticon. The main point there was almost, A glancing blow makes the small Autobot spin around and after a moment emits, "Ack! I hate being dizzy." he shakes his head as he looks up at the Decepticon and ponders his next move. He presses a few buttons on his pistol and emits, "Why can't we all just get along!" he then fire off a narrow beam of energy towards the Decepticon, Nothing major.. nothing in Grooves arsenal is major. Combat: Groove strikes Homunculus with his Laser attack! Stumbling back with the force of the Autobot's kick, Scourge snarls and charges the dreaded Head Laser, firing off a burst of high-heat laser fire at Clutch, in retaliation for the nasty dent that foot put in his chest. That seems to be pinching something, and that's a bad sign....Bad for the Autobot. "Now you will see my skills, /fool/." Combat: Scourge misses Clutch with his Head Laser attack! Homunculus more or less bounces off Groove at a bad angle. Losing momentary control of his flight systems he hits the ground and bounces to a halt amidst a small cloud of dust. Pushing himself to his knees, he glances quickly back towards his opponent. Shaking his head to reduce the number of Groove's before him, Homunculus rises and shifts position slightly in an attempt to make an even smaller target. It's clear he's not too fond of how this is going. Nevertheless, he takes a moment to monologue before firing. "Playtime is over, foolish Autobot. Now is the moment of your destruction!" Combat: Homunculus sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Homunculus misses Groove with his Fusion Cannon attack! -1 Clutch's optics widen briefly, but at the word 'fool' he flings himself to the side, vacating Scourge's line of fire just before his weapon actually fires. Rolling back to his feet, Clutch wears a slightly bemused expression. "Dodged a laser, how 'bout that?" He hears the report of Homunculus' oversized cannon again, and jerks his head around to look. But Groove seems to be more or less in one piece. "Well well well," Clutch drawls, loking positively smug now. "If this is what passes for 'skill' in the Decepticons these days, I think this war's gonna be over before we know it." He hefts his energy weapon again and advances grimly on Scourge. Then he pauses and adds, "And don't call me fool." Combat: Clutch misses Scourge with his Steampunk Sabre attack! Groove dives out of the way and rolls along the floor as he shouts, "Play time, If your playing i'd hate to see when your working... What a waste of energon... And i expect it wasn't locally sourced..." Groove looks up and watches the Decepticon and gets the option to do something that he's only ever been able to do once before... He sees Homunculus and behind him some distance away the Sweep commander battling Clutch. Groove puts on for him what would be an evil grin. He draws his larger Photon Pistol and takes aim, Setting the pistol on a wide dispersal he fires off a thick stream of photons towards the pair of Decepticons. Combat: Groove strikes Homunculus with his Photon Pistol Area attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Homunculus's Accuracy. (Blinded) Combat: Groove misses Scourge with his Photon Pistol Area attack! Again spinning away from Clutch's energy blade, Scourge's move allows him to also dodge that photon beam. Leaping backwards, he transforms mid-leap and takes to the air again. Rising several hundred feet, the Sweepcraft circles, like a vulture circling a dying animal in the desert, bringing his scanners online and sweeping them across Clutch. He is going to wipe that smug look from the Autobot in a moment. Leaping into the air, the traditional sounds of transforming splitting the air, Scourge twists as his body folds into a nasty looking Sweepcraft. Combat: Sweep Spacecraft sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Scourge analyzes Clutch for weaknesses. Homunculus stares at his cannon arm as if it has betrayed him. Clawing hands raised to the sky, he throws back his head and rages wordlessly at the sky. Unfortunately his anger has clouded his better judgement and as he screams furiously, he leaves himself open to retaliation by the ever-infuriating Groove. Blasted with a stream of photons, the tape staggers backwards even as his sight disappears. "NYYAAARGH!" He bellows, abandoning all reserve and swinging his primary weapon in all directions. "Die, Die, DIE!" Shimmering blasts of purple fire lance out in all directions, hopefully hitting someone who isn't on Homunculus' side. Combat: Homunculus sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Homunculus strikes Groove with his Arm Cannon Barrage Area attack! -2 Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Groove's Agility. (Crippled) Combat: Homunculus misses Clutch with his Arm Cannon Barrage Area attack! -2 Clutch's smug expression does indeed melt away. The repeated commands to 'die' pretty much kill it completely, but they also serve to give him some warning. He looks over at Homunculus just in time to see what's coming, and dives for cover in a ditch-like depression on the side of the highway. Poking his optics over the edge, he sees immediately that Groove wasn't so fortunate. "Time to bring out the heavy firepower, Groove!" he shouts. There's the loud metallic snap of a weapon's slide being worked. Then Clutch hops out of the ditch to stand with his feet braced firmly on the highway in a firing position, a heavy rifle cradled in both hands. He raises the muzzle and then sweeps it back across the sky as he opens fire, pelting out a swarm of tiny rocket-propelled projectiles that actually curve in flight to home in on any Decepticon forms they happen to pass close enough to. Combat: Clutch misses Sweep Spacecraft with his Micro Missiles Area attack! Combat: Clutch strikes Homunculus with his Micro Missiles Area attack! Groove takes another solid shot from the tapebot, the small Autobot sigh as the shells rip into his systems like hot lead through think metal... Groove looks around and says, "You know if you would have used fair trade ammunition you could have supported a few families while doing your work... and seeing as this isn't play time anymore... You could have put the ammo on expences..." trying to confuse the Decepticon might be Grooves only chance as he rushes towards Homunculus and attempts to throw a Protectobt Punch at the con. Combat: Groove strikes Homunculus with his Punch attack! Going evasive, Scourge outmaneuvers the explosives that Clutch sends his way. He notes that Homunculus wasn't so lucky, but the Sweep will deal with Groove in a moment. For now, his sensors lock on to a very nice weak point in Clutch's armor. Diving, without a word for a change, the Sweepcraft opens up on the Autobot with a hastily charged disintegrator blast, to wipe that smug look off his face. Combat: Sweep Spacecraft sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Sweep Spacecraft strikes Clutch with his Disintegrator Beams attack! -2 Combat: Removing analysis data for Clutch. Homunculus finally finishes thrashing about and drops his arms heavily to his sides. It's clear that last bit of mayhem took a lot out of him. Systems cycling, his vision begins to clear and he makes an attempt to survey the damage. Everything seems to shift back to normal just in time for Homs to see a swarm of miniature projectiles diving in on him. He takes the briefest motion in an attempt to take to the sky and get out of the way when Groove's fist catches him in the back of the head. Spiraling awkwardly into the air, the undersized egomaniac fails to regain control before the missiles detonate on top of him. Slapped down as if from an angry god, Homunculus bounces across the surface of the roadway and finally comes to a stop. Dragging himself behind a convenient section of cover, he takes a moment to reflect on where his strategy has gone wrong... Combat: Homunculus sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Homunculus takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Clutch's smug expression is actually long gone, and as Scourge's beam eats away over half the armor on his front side, it's replaced by a look of extreme pain. Turning quickly, Clutch rushes over to Groove's side, dodging back and forth as he runs to present a more difficult target. "Okay, so their heavy firepower is heavier than ours. Looks like we'll have to change tactics and get tricky." He holds up a strange looking weapon, with a pistol-grip but a tiny disc-shaped attachment rather than a gunbarrel. This he points directly at Groove, and sends out a jolt of energy at his fellow Autobot! But instead of damaging him, it pumps a temporary energy boost into the little Protectobot. "Okay, now it's your turn Groove...show 'em what you've got!!" Combat: Clutch sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Clutch quickly patches up some of Groove's minor injuries. Groove watches as Cluch starts to repair some of his damage, but he flails his arms around, "Don't fix me! Shoot him!" he gestures towards Scourge, "Him big bag, Me little good. If you take a nose dive, i'm not gonna last long with a little bit o'fixin." he sighs as Cluchs repairs his most damaged systems then says, "Well as the junks say, Were back after the commercial..." With that Groove then grins his sly grin as he examines Scourge and says, "One good turn deserves another..." he lets out a little cackle as he analyzes the Sweep commander. Combat: Groove analyzes Scourge for weaknesses Clutch can exploit. Watching his prey move away, to patch the other Autobot, Scourge snarls and transforms, sweeping down towards the pair with his anti-grav's and drawing his rifle from subspace. Aiming at the freshly patched up Groove this time, instead, he fires off a blast of acid ray to help foil the repairs to the Autobot's systems. "Do you truly think the pair of you could defeat me? You are hardly worth my time!" Turning as it approaches, the Sweepcraft seems to split in places, the arms and legs of a robot emerging, then the demonic wings unfurl and the menacing visage of Scourge makes it's appearance, completing the transformation from Sweepcraft to robot. Combat: Scourge sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Scourge strikes Groove with his Acid Ray attack! Combat: You are running low on energon! Windshear is totally lost... "Uhm... Im somewhers on Cybertron.. now I got some drone following me... Homunculus isn't cowering behind that piece of rubble. Perish the thought, he's merely reprioritizing his threat assessment of the Autobots. Thankfully no pesky missiles or fists disturb his, uh, planning. Pushing himself upright, he winces as the shattered remnants of his chestplate twist painfully in their new configuration. As he edges around the debris, he ponders the likelihood of Scourge having killed everyone already. Homunculus steps slightly into the open, unwillingly to completely make himself an easy target and snaps off a shot at the first moving object he sees. Combat: Homunculus sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Homunculus misses Clutch with his Fusion Cannon (Disruptor) attack! Clutch lowers his bizzare medical device and smiles slowly as targetting data scrolls across across his vision (tiny white lettering actually scrolls up across his optics, reversed so that he can read it). But he flinshes slightly as Scourge's ray hits Groove. This gets his head back in the here and now, and he raises a heavy duty laser pistol, snarling at Scourge. "You little--" a few hastily aimed energy bolts spit past him, and he flinches again, glancing at Homunculus who has apparently also returned to the fight. "Frak! What does it take to get through to you Decepticons?!" He puts away the patch-o-matic and produces another laser pistol, identical to the first, so that now he's pointing one at each of their enemies. "Maybe /this/ will do the trick!" Combat: Clutch misses Scourge with his Lasers John-Woo Style! Area attack! -5 Combat: Clutch misses Homunculus with his Lasers John-Woo Style! Area attack! -5